Huo Yuhao wasn't in a hurry to absorb the unshaped soul bone.
Because he had a bold new idea!
"Is it possible to artificially create unshaped soul bones?" Huo Yuhao was extremely intrigued.
Soul beasts with a soul core always produce soul bones. However, not all soul bone–producing beasts have a soul core.
A 100,000-year soul beast must possess a soul core, but not all soul core–bearing beasts are at the 100,000-year level.
Some exceptionally gifted soul beasts might develop a soul core even during the ten-thousand-year or thousand-year stages.
Especially super soul beasts!
That's the difference in racial talent.
"If I can uncover how these unshaped soul bones are formed and combine that with the crafting method of Mystic Soul Soul Bones, maybe I can mass-produce Mystic Soul External Soul Bones!"
Mystic Soul Soul Bones are only valuable to those who need them, primarily used for soul bone fusion.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, Mystic Soul Soul Bones are worth far less than regular soul bones of the same age.
Because they typically only offer a soul power amplification effect—with no soul skills—and the amplification is quite limited.
Even thousand-year Mystic Soul Soul Bones are rare, let alone ten-thousand-year ones.
After all, few ten-thousand-year soul beasts live in groups, and it's difficult to gather a hundred of the same kind.
Any group-living ten-thousand-year soul beast would be impossible to approach without Titled Douluo-level strength.
And there's also a risk of failure when crafting Mystic Soul Soul Bones.
Imagine painstakingly gathering a hundred ten-thousand-year soul beasts—only to fail at the final moment.
A soul master might drop dead from rage alone!
But if one could craft Mystic Soul External Soul Bones, the value changes drastically.
Even if they only provide a singular soul power amplification, the age of the bone could increase indefinitely, and with it, the amplification effect!
Plus, there's no absorption limit for External Soul Bones—as long as they don't overlap locations. Absorbing dozens or even hundreds of Mystic Soul External Soul Bones, each granting just 1% power boost, could stack to a truly terrifying level.
Even a Titled Douluo would be tempted!
At that moment, the Skydream Iceworm returned, looking very satisfied. "Brother Hao, it's submitted!"
Behind the Iceworm was a now miniaturized Dragon Soul, only a few centimeters long. It bowed twice to Huo Yuhao and lay submissively on the ground.
"Oh?" Huo Yuhao temporarily set aside the unshaped soul bone and asked, "Did it spill everything?"
The Skydream Iceworm was stunned for a moment, then roared in anger, "Damn it, it tried to trick me! It didn't say a word!"
He turned to go back and continue whipping the Dragon Soul.
The dragon, lying on the ground, started crying and tried to speak, but could only make muffled noises—"Mmm mmm mmm."
Huo Yuhao finally realized, "Ah, I forgot to lift the seal on its mouth. Go ahead and speak."
With his words, the Dragon Soul was finally able to open its mouth.
The first thing it said was to beg for mercy:
"I submit! I really submit! I'll confess everything! Ask anything—if I know it, I'll tell you everything!"
It was clearly panicked.
Did they think the whip created by Electrolux was just for show?
That was a torture weapon specifically for soul-based lifeforms!
Every lash hurt deep into the soul!
The Dragon Soul just wanted to survive. That kind of pain was unbearable.
"Brother Skydream, spare it for now," Huo Yuhao said with a grin.
"Hmph, Brother Hao is too kind. You'd better behave from now on!" the Skydream Iceworm threatened, now acting like Huo Yuhao's top enforcer.
"Yes yes yes, Lord Skydream, I understand!"
The Dragon Soul was on the verge of tears.
It had lived for a hundred thousand years, and never in its wildest dreams thought it would one day be whipped by an iceworm.
And it couldn't even fight back.
Was this hell?
Did eating too many snacks in life lead to this karma after death?
"As long as my lord spares my life and lets me continue existing, I am willing to submit!" The Dragon Soul knelt and kowtowed again.
Huo Yuhao was very satisfied with its attitude.
"Very good. A wise man knows when to submit~"
"Now then, introduce yourself. And tell me about this thing." Huo Yuhao tossed the unshaped soul bone in his hand.
"Yes…"
The Dragon Soul rose and began explaining.
Its name was Ah Hui, a mutated Frost Dragon, with ice and light dual attributes. Hence, it called itself a Frost-Luminescence Dragon.
Thanks to its light mutation, Ah Hui had greater potential and power than its kin, allowing it to cultivate to 100,000 years.
But it had no confidence in surviving its next heavenly tribulation, nor was it willing to reincarnate into a human and live only a few hundred years—at best.
There was a high chance of dying midway.
So, Ah Hui roamed the continent in search of hope.
Eventually, it discovered the Evil Eye Clan on a neighboring continent!
"My research showed that once Evil Eyes reach a certain level, their souls evolve and form a crystal core, storing their soul essence inside. This preserves a sliver of life—giving them a chance at resurrection!" Ah Hui boasted.
Building on this, Ah Hui developed a method of sealing the soul into a soul core.
Lacking strong spiritual power? Use a soul core instead.
Light attribute to preserve soul activity, ice attribute to freeze the soul and reduce energy loss.
The lairs and formations were all his doing—meant to lure excellent hosts for possession and rebirth.
If it succeeded in taking over a powerful human, the bloodline of the Frost-Luminescence Dragon sealed in the core would transform the human's body, granting them longevity.
If all went smoothly, Ah Hui could possess hosts over and over, achieving a twisted form of immortality.
If it failed, it would simply sleep in the extreme north until its soul dissipated—dying without pain or fear.
But then it encountered Huo Yuhao.
It didn't die.
But it didn't live either.
It became a ghost!
Huo Yuhao confirmed Ah Hui's honesty through his Ghost Banner martial soul.
The Skydream Iceworm and the Golden Tortoise both exclaimed, "Holy sh*t, this dragon is brilliant!"
Even Electrolux looked at Ah Hui in a new light, praising it as having the potential of a lich.
Ah Hui obediently handed over the secret technique it had created.
With his All-Seeing Eye, Huo Yuhao quickly learned the technique.
"The Soul Core Rebirth Method… there's definitely something to it. As long as the being can form a soul core—even humans—they can use it!"
Ah Hui hesitated. He wanted to say the technique's real name was "Supreme Ice-Light Divine Rebirth Art"… but in the end, wisely held his tongue.
The method was indeed clever. But whether one could hibernate like Ah Hui depended on the strength and attributes of their soul.
A typical Titled Douluo might only preserve their soul for ten years using this technique before dissipating.
By contrast, a 100,000-year soul beast could last about a hundred years.
If your attributes weren't compatible and couldn't nurture the soul, the retention time would shrink dramatically.
But if you had life or light attributes—those beneficial to the soul—the time could be extended significantly.
"Looks like it's time to find a light-attribute dragon soul beast for my Mutated Frost Jade Moth martial soul to devour," Huo Yuhao mused.
If he fused this unshaped soul bone, he would definitely inherit the bloodline of the Frost-Luminescence Dragon—which would influence his martial soul.
It might even give the moth a second pair of wings, potentially with a light attribute.
That'd be hard to explain.
Shrek Academy trusted him now, but he still had to keep up appearances.
He had to make it look reasonable.
Later, when changes occurred, it would seem natural.
"The Heavenly Dragon Horse of the Star Dou Forest... Wait for me. Brother Hao will bring you into the family soon!"
Huo Yuhao praised Ah Hui a bit, then stored him away.
But he didn't make Ah Hui his fourth main spirit.
Ah Hui's potential and abilities were maxed out—he wasn't even as good as He Caitou.
He had no special powers.
He kept the Golden Tortoise as a main spirit because it was a Beast of Blessing, enhancing his Ghost Banner martial soul's fortune-attracting ability.
Since the Tortoise joined, the Ghost Banner had been drawing in all sorts of useful items.
If Ah Hui had brought some extra value—like a ten-thousand-year bone dragon—Huo Yuhao might've considered it.
Finally, Huo Yuhao put away the unshaped soul bone and activated his All-Seeing Eye at full power to begin researching how to craft Mystic Soul External Soul Bones.
The Next Day.
Early in the morning, Huo Yuhao went out hunting.
He didn't bring Vena or Bei Bei along.
Because Huo Yuhao was planning to do some private work.
The imperial guards didn't worry much about him either—Huo Yuhao's strength was well-known among them.
The captain of the imperial guard only reminded him to watch out for any lingering evil soul masters outside.
The captain also shared some intel about the evil soul masters with Huo Yuhao.
Previously, the Third Elder's kidnapping of Nan Shuishui had drawn the attention of other powerful individuals. The Third Elder tried to silence the witnesses, which ended up provoking Tyrannosaurus Douluo.
During the investigation led by Tyrannosaurus Douluo, they discovered a secret base of the Holy Spirit Sect. Unfortunately, the base had already been destroyed.
After digging further, all they found were corpses, with no further clues.
The Third Elder was suspected to have escaped.
However, the Holy Spirit disciples and servants collecting soul beast corpses and spirits outside were all caught.
They were dragged out of the beast tide by the powerful investigators.
Even people from Shrek Academy, like Ling Luochan, joined the hunt for the evil soul masters.
After investigations, it was discovered that the evil soul masters were able to move unharmed within the beast tide thanks to a special type of incense.
Combined with Nan Shuishui's testimony after her return, it led people to suspect that this was an organized group of evil soul masters with a powerful background—likely involving more than one Titled Douluo-level individual.
As for why no one discovered the name "Holy Spirit Sect"—
It was because the evil soul masters had a restriction placed on them: if they tried to reveal the name of their organization, their souls would shatter and they would die.
It was clear that the Holy Spirit Sect wasn't ready to be exposed yet.
Also, the name "Compassionate Demon" had officially caught the attention of the powerful figures.
After all, someone who could go toe-to-toe with a Titled Douluo-level evil soul master would naturally raise suspicions that they, too, were a Titled Douluo-level evil soul master.
And perhaps an independent one.
Ling Luochan and the others could only sigh at Dai Yueheng's misfortune.
After all, Titled Douluo-level evil soul masters were out of their league. Revenge was impossible for now.
They had to wait for reinforcements from Shrek Academy.
But for some reason, those reinforcements hadn't arrived yet.
As for the rest of the investigation, the captain didn't share much, as he was neither responsible for it nor interested in getting too involved.
Digging too deeply would only arouse suspicion.
Since the matter hadn't reached Huo Yuhao himself, he had nothing to worry about. He didn't show any unusual behavior either.
Even if someone irrationally suspected him based on some clues, it would depend on whether Shrek Academy would admit he was an evil soul master or not.
This time, Huo Yuhao went out for two purposes:
To get a spirit ring for He Caitou.
To craft an external soul bone using secret methods.
With the help of the Eye of All Laws, Huo Yuhao had successfully figured out how to create secret-method soul-attached external bones.
It looked hard—because it was. But not impossibly so.
And with his growing spiritual power, he could now maintain the Eye of All Laws longer.
Brother Hao was no longer a "three-minute man." He could now last a full four minutes!
Don't underestimate that one-minute difference. It made a huge impact, giving him much more time to develop and learn spells.
But things had to be handled one at a time.
First, the matter of He Caitou's spirit ring.
"He Caitou's first three soul skills boost mental power, strength, and defense. In the original story, his fourth and fifth soul skills boosted soul power and gave an invincibility effect."
These skills were excellent—even now, they were valuable to Huo Yuhao.
But due to current limitations, he couldn't obtain the exact same soul rings as in the original. So he'd have to find suitable alternatives.
As long as the new skills weren't healing-type or repeated the functions of the first three, Huo Yuhao would accept them.
The target age for the fourth ring was around ten thousand years.
Since He Caitou was the one absorbing it, the upper limit depended on the strength of his ghost soul.
Thanks to Huo Yuhao's light nurturing, He Caitou could now absorb a ten-thousand-year fourth ring without worrying about spiritual backlash or failure—because even if he exploded, he would eventually revive as the main soul.
The morning air was thick with the smell of blood from yesterday's battle.
It would take time for nature to wash that scent away.
Still, the cycle of nature had to continue.
"The early bird catches the worm—but the early bird also gets caught by Brother Hao."
Huo Yuhao ventured far from the frontlines before he found a suitable soul beast.
After all, most soul beasts were staying far away from the battle zone to avoid death.
Following his luck map, Huo Yuhao found a ten-thousand-year Swift Ice Falcon.
A flying soul beast known for extreme speed.
It would likely grant a speed-type soul skill.
The age was perfect.
Huo Yuhao hit it with a ranged Soul Shock, then knocked it out with two punches.
He released He Caitou to finish it off and absorb its soul ring.
The process of absorption wasn't much different from a normal soul master's.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao stored the falcon's soul in his Ghost Banner martial soul to prevent spiritual backlash.
Soon, He Caitou successfully absorbed the ring.
"Fourth Soul Skill—'I Got an Ice Cigar!'"
"Speed Boost: Ice Cigar!"
The cigar was ice-blue and felt cool to the touch.
Huo Yuhao tried a puff and his eyes lit up. "Very refreshing flavor, and it boosts my speed by 30%. Not bad at all."
He observed the newly powered-up He Caitou—his eyes were livelier now, not just babbling "aba aba."
But still… he didn't seem that smart.
The stronger a soul master or beast was, the more intelligence it retained inside the Ghost Banner martial soul.
A soul master at the Soul Sage level or a beast over fifty thousand years could retain the cognitive level of a teenager.
That meant smooth communication with Huo Yuhao.
To retain full intelligence and memory, one needed to be at least a Titled Douluo or a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Of course, those with naturally strong spiritual or soul power could retain more wisdom and memory, too.
On the flip side, evil soul masters often turned into vengeful spirits—mad and nearly mindless.
Next, Huo Yuhao fed a bunch of hundred-year soul beast souls to He Caitou to quickly raise his level.
While searching for more suitable soul beasts.
This time, he found one sooner:
A twenty-thousand-year Snow Venom Bird.
According to Ah Hui's explanation, the Snow Venom Bird wasn't strong in attack or speed—but it was extremely poisonous and cunning.
Its venom could spread through skin contact and lead to death. It used snowstorms to scatter its toxic feathers and poison beasts from afar, then swoop in to feast on their corpses.
Technically, such a soul ring didn't suit a food-type soul master like He Caitou.
Most venomous soul beast rings weren't suitable for food-type masters—especially something like the Snow Venom Bird.
Because that would make their food… poisonous. Like, trying to kill your teammates?
But Huo Yuhao wanted to challenge that conventional logic.
After all, He Caitou's cigars were only meant for himself.
So the Snow Venom Bird, flying around happily looking for corpses, got knocked out of the sky by Huo Yuhao's remote Ice Frost Centipede Fist.
Its venom was useless against Huo Yuhao.
In the end, it joined the Ghost Banner family.
He Caitou was fed to level 50 and began absorbing the ring.
It took longer this time, but no problems occurred.
"Fifth Soul Skill—'I Got a Bitter Snow Cigar!'"
"Soul Transformed into Venom: Bitter Snow Cigar!"
The bitter snow cigar wasn't visually different from his normal ones, except the tobacco was now replaced with blackened feathers.
Huo Yuhao tried a puff and narrowed his eyes.
"Hao-ge, you okay?" Skydream Iceworm asked cautiously.
"Yeah... it's definitely toxic, but it doesn't affect me much," Huo Yuhao replied. "The taste is bitter, but there's a deep, mature flavor. Slightly addictive. The poison is moderate—if someone's unprepared and untreated, it could kill a Soul King."
But normally, one puff would be enough to detect the danger, and no one would continue. A single puff wouldn't kill a Soul King—maybe a level-10 rookie at best.
Also, the poison's strength wouldn't scale with He Caitou's growth.
But that was only the side effect.
The main feature of the Bitter Snow Cigar was its amplification effect—something that thrilled Huo Yuhao.
"The bitter snow cigar boosts poison effects!"
"For non-poison soul masters, their soul power gains venom matching the cigar's toxin. For poison-based soul masters, it boosts their poison power by 35%!"
"On top of that, smoking the cigar stimulates their internal poison affinity, slowly enhancing their venom permanently. It's a training aid for poison soul masters!"
In summary—
A youthful, mini version of Little Snow-Colored Swan Kiss!
Other poison-type soul masters might worry about being poisoned, but not Huo Yuhao.
"As expected, once your mindset slips, you discover new roads and surprises!"
He took another deep puff.
"Ahhh~ So good!"
"Perhaps, in the future, I can help He Caitou absorb even more special soul rings and break more conventions," Huo Yuhao murmured.
There was a certain thrill to it, like opening a mystery box.
Then Huo Yuhao prepared to try each of He Caitou's cigars one by one, to taste their effects.
This time, He Caitou actually took the initiative to step forward and light one for Huo Yuhao.
Clearly, He Caitou's intelligence had improved again.
At the very least, he could graduate from prenatal education and start elementary-level coursework.
If he followed Electrolux to study necromancy, he might even become a postnatal holy son of necromancy.
"Xiao Hei, you're doing great. In the future, Brother Hao will take you along to improve together." Huo Yuhao patted He Caitou's shoulder in encouragement.
But He Caitou still stared blankly, unresponsive.
Good news: He's starting to understand social cues.
Bad news: Not much else.
After trying several cigars, Huo Yuhao found that, just as the original work described, all of He Caitou's soul skills had very decent effects.
Even the first soul skill had a 30% boost effect!
Originally, the first soul skill only had a 10% boost. But for each new ring He Caitou gained, the skill's effect increased by 5%. Now that he had five rings and was a Soul King, the boost had reached 30%.
Additionally, the first soul skill's cigars could last for over two days, and over a thousand could be produced at once.
Compared to most support-type soul masters, this was already quite impressive. And as He Caitou's power grew, the effect would only get stronger.
"I wonder if He Caitou can use ring-enhancing secret techniques. If his soul ring years increase, how much stronger would the effects be?" Huo Yuhao thought briefly but didn't act on it.
After all, He Caitou was strong enough for now.
Huo Yuhao didn't continue strengthening He Caitou, since it would now require "dog food" made from ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
And he had no spare resources.
Thousand-year "dog food" could satisfy basic needs, but ten-thousand-year-level wasn't feasible!
It's no wonder people say that evil soul masters cause great damage to the world. The way He Caitou improved wasn't much different from how evil soul masters cultivated.
He Caitou looked longingly at Huo Yuhao, who casually kicked him back into the Ghost Banner Martial Soul.
"Come to think of it, although He Caitou is a food-type soul master, his cigar martial soul has some issues," Huo Yuhao mused, looking at five cigars in hand, raising an eyebrow.
The issue: a person can only fit so many cigars in their mouth.
Especially girls with small mouths.
If it were Brother Hao's big cigar, even one would fill it up completely.
Although just one puff activates the effect, only continuous smoking maintains it.
Fortunately, this wasn't a big problem.
You could inhale the whole cigar at once—no need to puff slowly.
And there's no need to worry about smoking harming your health.
These cigars were essentially soul skills.
Except for the fifth soul skill's Bitter Cigar—that one really could kill.
After buffing himself up, Huo Yuhao flew off in a certain direction, preparing to test crafting a secret-method soul-attached external soul bone.
On his way to hunt a soul beast, Huo Yuhao had already picked a target.
Soon, he arrived.
A field of blood-colored roses with ten years of cultivation had sprouted in the snowy ground. Roughly estimating, there were over a thousand, forming a sea of flowers.
Against the white snow, the eerie red gave the scene an artistic beauty.
This was Huo Yuhao's target.
Don't scoff at ten-year soul beasts—go out and look for yourself. Where would you even find a herd of hundred-year ones these days?
But don't underestimate these Blood Roses.
They had only sprouted within the past two days and had rapidly reached the ten-year level.
Huo Yuhao kicked away the snow beneath one plant to reveal piles of pale white bones.
The Blood Roses' roots were entwined around the bones, greedily sucking up residual nutrients.
It was a mix of beauty and horror—dangerous yet alluring.
These flowers ate meat!
"These are Extreme North Blood Roses," Ah Hui explained to Huo Yuhao.
Now that Ah Hui had joined them, the job of explaining northern soul beasts fell to him.
Partly because Ah Hui had become the little brother of the Iceworm Tianmeng and needed to pull his weight; partly because Ah Hui, being a wandering dragon, knew far more than the lazy Iceworm about common soul beasts.
"Extreme North Blood Roses have strong vitality and need blood to germinate. They help accelerate wound healing when consumed, though they are mildly poisonous."
"Some powerful soul beasts raise them in their territory for both decoration and healing."
"Their seeds stick to the fur of soul beasts. When a host dies, the seeds drink their blood and rapidly sprout and spread."
"Clearly, many soul beasts died here, and some carried seeds that caused this rose field to flourish."
"However, the beasts that died here weren't strong, so these roses have only grown to a few decades in age."
After explaining, Ah Hui obediently returned to the Ghost Banner Martial Soul.
Now that Huo Yuhao understood the roses, he sprang into action.
Using spiritual detection, he quickly locked onto the oldest one—probably the first to sprout, with 60 years of cultivation.
Raising his fist, he shouted:
"Ice Mirage Fist!"
A flurry of punches decimated the surrounding Blood Roses, turning the field into scattered petals and leaves, white soul rings floating in the air.
Only the 60-year-old Blood Rose was left untouched.
The Blood Roses had no ability to resist.
This is common for most plant-type soul beasts.
When they're weak, they can't fight back at all—bottom of the food chain.
Some of the roses tried to plant seeds on Huo Yuhao, but his Ultimate Ice destroyed them easily.
After clearing the rest, he swiftly eliminated the last one.
The final Blood Rose withered before his eyes.
A white soul ring rose into the air.
But Huo Yuhao didn't care about the ring—he wanted the corpse.
No soul core? Then use the beast's corpse instead!
He sat cross-legged before it, slashed his wrist, and watered the flower with his blood, injecting fortune energy and beginning the ritual.
By combining the Blood Refinement Method with the soul bone crafting secret method, Huo Yuhao had invented his own method to forge secret-method soul-attached external soul bones!
A true cultivator must act the part.
If you always stuck to Douluo Continent's rules, how would you ever invent something this incredible?
As he worked, the Blood Rose corpse visibly "came back to life," growing blood-red petals anew.
But they weren't real petals—they were made from Huo Yuhao's blood, plus the death aura and resentment of all the slain roses!
The infused fortune energy slowly reshaped the rose.
Since it was a low-level beast, the energy cost was low.
Gradually, all the soul rings were drawn together.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea—
They merged.
Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up.
"Now's the time!"
"Condense!"
All the soul ring power, death aura, and resentment surged into the Blood Rose.
Eventually, a crystalline, eerily beautiful Blood Rose appeared before Huo Yuhao.
The ritual complete—the soul bone was formed!
Joy lighting up his face, Huo Yuhao eagerly examined the Blood Rose.
Its form resembled a rose crafted from colored glass—completely lacking the usual menacing aura of soul bones created by secret methods.
"But this thing isn't just a soul bone… it's kind of like a magical artifact too… whatever, I'll try absorbing it first."
He guided it with his soul power, and the Blood Rose merged into the pinky finger of his left hand.
The sensation was like any other soul bone fusion: bones shattered and reshaped.
Eventually, the Blood Rose vanished and solidified into his new soul bone:
Blood Rose External Soul Bone!
Huo Yuhao studied the soul bone on his finger.
"The quality of the soul bone has improved slightly—barely reaching the hundred-year level."
"Its effect is the same as the Secret Method Soul Soul Bone: a 5% boost in soul power."
"However, it also has an additional function as an artifact: summoning the vengeful spirits of over a thousand Extreme North Blood Roses to assist in battle."
"The only ability of these vengeful spirits is bloodsucking. And the soul bone's age can be increased faster through this blood absorption."
"…"
All in all, not bad.
The soul bone emitted a faint glow, and a beautiful Extreme North Blood Rose appeared in Huo Yuhao's hand. It lacked the usual resentment aura typical of vengeful spirits—
—because the resentment was sealed within the rose.
Once the rose pierced an enemy's body, the resentment would erupt and damage the enemy's soul.
At the same time, behind Huo Yuhao, a large number of blood roses and crimson petals danced in the air like special effects, making him look all the more eye-catching.
But those beautiful petals were all infused with the aura of vengeance.
"With the resentment and the bloodsucking trait of these spirits, I think I can develop some unique offensive techniques."
Huo Yuhao smiled and casually flung the rose in his hand. It pierced a distant tree trunk—three inches deep.
"Brother Hao, are we going back now?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm asked curiously.
"It's not quite noon yet…" Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. "Why don't we let the Blood Roses feast on some fresh blood first, so I can get used to their power?"
With that, Huo Yuhao turned and walked away—
—leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
After the wind and snow passed, all was buried once more.
By the time Huo Yuhao returned to the front lines—
—it was just in time for lunch.
He dragged the corpse of a ten-thousand-year-old Ice-Spike Boar back to camp.
"Brother Beibei, Sister Wei Na, I brought back something to eat. Set up the grill!" he said excitedly.
However, the moment he returned, Huo Yuhao saw some unexpected visitors.
Ling Luocheng and several others had arrived.
Beibei and Wei Na stood with them.
Among the Shrek group, there was also an elderly woman he didn't expect.
Startled, Huo Yuhao quickly dropped the boar's corpse and greeted her warmly:
"Greetings, Elder Song! When did you arrive?"
Seeing Huo Yuhao, Elder Song squinted her eyes with a kind smile.
"Little Yuhao, you're back. I just arrived a little while ago."
Ling Luocheng and the others twitched slightly.
Elder Song had actually arrived that morning. They had been waiting all day.
But since she said so, no one dared to contradict her.
They all looked at Huo Yuhao with curiosity—wondering why he was so highly regarded by Elder Song.
Then they noticed the massive corpse he had dragged in.
They twitched again.
"Little Yuhao, did you kill that beast yourself?" Elder Song asked with a smile, voicing everyone's question.
"Yes, I did. I heard Ice-Spike Boar meat is delicious. I happened to run into one during training and just casually brought it back." Huo Yuhao answered obediently.
His tone was as if he'd passed a snack shop and decided to grab some chips.
To Ling Luocheng and the others, it felt absurd—like a child went out and bagged a wild boar… and succeeded.
Elder Song didn't question it at all. She knew Huo Yuhao's strength well.
With his mutant Frost Centipede martial soul, it wasn't surprising he could kill a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast.
"Killed with a clean throat-cutting strike. No extra wounds on the corpse. Impressive. You've improved again, Little Yuhao." Elder Song nodded and praised him.
Beibei and Wei Na couldn't help but puff their chests with pride.
Elder Song continued:
"Beibei told me your armor form is more complete now. Can I take a look?"
"Of course."
Huo Yuhao then merged with his Frost Centipede and donned his frost armor.
Seeing that even his legs were armored now, Elder Song's smile deepened.
Since his martial soul could form armor, it naturally had the characteristics of an armor-type martial soul.
Among soul masters, the more complete the armor, the stronger the martial soul.
With armor covering both upper and lower body, Huo Yuhao was now among the top tier.
"With this armor, you look even more adorable." Elder Song fondly ruffled his hair. "If I had a grandson like you, I'd die without regrets."
"Grandma Song, you're a powerful Titled Douluo. You'll live a long life!" Huo Yuhao immediately changed how he addressed her.
Respecting elders—always the right move.
Hearing the new title, Elder Song laughed heartily.
Her own daughter wasn't much, but recognizing a "grandson" like Yuhao was more than enough.
Still, calling her "Grandma" and calling Mu En "Teacher" made things feel a little… off in the generational order.
But that didn't matter. Each title was in its own context.
"Grandma Song, why did you come to the front lines? Is another beast tide coming?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.
Time to act naive. Old ladies loved innocent kids.
Sure enough, Elder Song was even happier as she patted his head:
"Don't worry, the beast tide is over. Grandma came to bring you all back to the academy."
"Really? Then I'll go pack right now."
"No rush. Chat with Grandma first. Tell me about what you learned out there…"
Beibei, Wei Na, and the others watched the two chat warmly and exchanged looks—
—then quietly went to pack their things.
Elder Song had come to the front lines mainly because of Dai Yaoheng's death. Once here, she also heard about an evil soul master who might be a Titled Douluo.
Unfortunately, she had arrived too late. The evil soul master had long since vanished.
So she decided to bring everyone back to Shrek Academy and no longer involve herself in frontline affairs.
Not even attending the victory banquet.
Their battlefield merits would be converted into rewards by the Heavenly Soul Empire and sent to them directly.
As for Dai Yaoheng's death—
Coming to the front was his own choice. Even if he died while working as an inspector, it had little to do with Shrek Academy.
At most, a little humanitarian compensation. And maybe a reminder to the White Tiger Duke's household not to act foolishly.
At least this way, his son could die with a good reputation.
With Elder Song leading them, Huo Yuhao and the group finally returned to Shrek Academy.
Upon arrival, Huo Yuhao noticed quite a few changes had taken place during his absence.
The Soul Tool Department's core disciples had posted missing-person flyers for He Caitou—even on the city walls.
Over the past six months, Fan Yu had searched tirelessly, but to no avail. In desperation, he resorted to this last measure.
It was clear Fan Yu truly saw He Caitou as a son.
But ultimately, he would be disappointed.
Zhou Yi resigned as deputy homeroom teacher of Class 4—
Because the main teacher, Mu Jin, had led the entire class in isolating her.
Such a thing had never happened in Shrek's history. Zhou Yi really had broken new ground.
Fan Yu, too caught up in He Caitou's disappearance, had no energy to help Zhou Yi.
In the end, she chose to step down.
The final major event—
Xuanzi had returned!
Xuanzi had been hiding in the Sun Moon Empire all this time. He only recently reestablished contact with the Academy.
Honestly, it made people wonder if he'd just been enjoying himself and only remembered he belonged to the Academy recently.
After all, a 98th-ranked Super Douluo going "missing" for over half a year?
That was unheard of on the entire Douluo Continent.
According to Elder Song, she had gone to the Sun Moon Empire's border to retrieve Xuanzi—which was why she hadn't come to the northern front lines earlier.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the happy faces of Ling Luocheng and the others as they celebrated Xuanzi's return…
…and looked at them with sympathy.
"Let's hope he's okay."
After returning to the academy, Huo Yuhao naturally went to greet Elder Mu En.
Only Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei went to see him.
Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe, who had returned as well, were already waiting for Huo Yuhao at Elder Mu En's place.
"Elder Xuan, I'm so glad you're okay!"
When Huo Yuhao saw Xuan Zi, he looked genuinely concerned and excited.
Bei Bei, on the other hand, hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself several times.
He wasn't as "pure" as little brother Huo. He knew all too well that everything that had happened before was essentially Elder Xuan's fault — he had insisted on facing the Titan Snow Demon King head-on.
Though he was grateful for Elder Xuan's protection, Bei Bei still found it hard to say the words "thank you."
But he was genuinely happy that Xuan Zi was safe.
At least the outcome had been a good one.
Flustered by Huo Yuhao's concern, Elder Xuan's old face turned a bit red. "Ahem, I'm a Transcendent Douluo. What could possibly happen to me?"
"But from now on, just call me senior brother. And about you and Bei Bei, Elder Mu has already told me. I should thank you — you stopped me from making a bigger mistake."
As he spoke, Elder Xuan's expression grew sorrowful.
The past year had not been a comfortable one for him.
In the beginning, Elder Xuan did want to leave the Sun Moon Empire as quickly as possible and return to Shrek Academy.
But once he thought about how, because of him, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei had supposedly "perished" in the Extreme North, he didn't dare go back to Shrek.
So, he ended up staying in the Sun Moon Empire, drinking and eating to excess, trying to numb himself.
But in the end, he still had to face the consequences.
Then, one day — as if the Sea God himself had inspired him — Elder Xuan suddenly remembered Shrek Academy. Only then did he realize he had been "wandering" for nearly a year.
Eventually, Elder Xuan returned to the academy.
He had already prepared himself for any punishment, even death if necessary.
But what he didn't expect was that, upon returning, he learned that not only were Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei alive, but Huo Yuhao had also awakened his Ultimate Ice martial soul and been accepted as a disciple by Elder Mu.
Huo Yuhao was now his junior brother?!
In fact, among the people present, Bei Bei technically had the lowest status.
But that didn't really matter — everyone had their place.
Now, Elder Xuan was overjoyed. The heavy weight in his heart was finally gone, and he felt completely unburdened.
When he found out that Huo Yuhao had saved both himself and Bei Bei in the Extreme North, his gratitude toward Yuhao grew even deeper.
Which is why Elder Xuan was now treating him with such warmth.
Meanwhile...
When Elder Mu saw the now noticeably chubbier Elder Xuan upon his return, he'd nearly itched to teach him a lesson on the spot.
Had Elder Xuan stayed away any longer, Elder Mu might've had a cenotaph made for him already!
But due to his health, Elder Mu held back from striking.
"If you ever need anything, come to your senior brother. At Shrek Academy, your senior brother's word carries weight." Elder Xuan patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder proudly.
"Really? Senior Brother?"
"Of cour—"
"Ahem ahem~" Elder Mu gently cleared his throat, cutting him off.
Elder Xuan awkwardly retreated behind Elder Mu and dared not say another word.
Although Elder Mu hadn't laid a hand on him, he had severely scolded Elder Xuan — and right now, Elder Xuan feared him more than anyone.
Huo Yuhao silently sighed — Now it's obvious who really calls the shots at Shrek Academy.
After that, Huo Yuhao went forward and respectfully greeted Elder Mu and Yan Shaozhe.
Elder Mu looked at him kindly. "Yuhao, have you already obtained your fourth soul ring?"
"Yes, Teacher. My fourth soul ring came from a 40,000-year-old Ice Jade Centipede Toad, so I've now reached Rank 45," Huo Yuhao replied "honestly."
"Rank 45?!"
Both Elder Xuan and Yan Shaozhe were shocked.
Especially Yan Shaozhe, who had watched Yuhao grow all this time — he no longer knew how to evaluate this level of talent.
"Yuhao, you're only about twelve years old, right?" Yan Shaozhe asked hesitantly.
"Almost thirteen," Huo Yuhao corrected.
A sharp light flashed in Elder Mu's eyes. He sat up straighter and said seriously, "Yuhao, your talent is unheard of — truly rare. I hope you won't waste it, and don't become arrogant. You have a long road ahead. But rest assured, Shrek Academy will always be your strongest support."
"You're right, Teacher," Huo Yuhao nodded obediently.
Elder Mu continued, "As for your fourth ring — I'm familiar with the Ice Jade Centipede Toad. While it's not of dragon lineage, it is an extremely poisonous ice-type soul beast. It suits your martial soul just fine. But for your future rings, you'll need to start seeking dragon-type soul beasts to further evolve your spirit."
Huo Yuhao kept nodding dutifully.
"Yes, Teacher, I'll make sure of that."
After chatting with everyone for a while, Huo Yuhao and Bei Bei took their leave, not wanting to disturb Elder Mu's rest.
As they left Elder Mu's residence...
Yan Shaozhe called out to Huo Yuhao.
"Little junior brother, your senior has something to discuss with you."
Something to discuss?
What could I possibly have to talk about with this uncle of a man?
Oh... Right.
Huo Yuhao suddenly realized — it must be about Ma Xiaotao!
That was probably the only reason Yan Shaozhe would be looking for him now.
What could he do?
Technically speaking, he wasn't supposed to know anything about that situation.
"Yes, Senior Brother?" Huo Yuhao replied sweetly, eyes filled with naïve clarity.
"It's just that..." Yan Shaozhe opened his mouth, glanced at Bei Bei, and awkwardly said, "Little junior brother, this isn't a good place to talk."
Ah, so he wants to talk behind someone's back, huh?
"Alright." Huo Yuhao nodded, then turned to Bei Bei. "Brother Bei Bei, I'll go with Senior Brother for a bit and then find you in the outer court later."
"Alright, little brother Huo, go ahead," Bei Bei replied warmly.
Yan Shaozhe then led Huo Yuhao away.
Elder Xuan watched the two of them leave — he knew exactly what Yan Shaozhe was up to.
With Huo Yuhao's current strength, he could indeed help Ma Xiaotao now.
But Elder Xuan also knew about the situation between Ma Xiaotao, Bei Bei, and Tang Ya. If Bei Bei found out that Yan Shaozhe was asking Huo Yuhao to help Ma Xiaotao, who knew how he'd react?
Eventually, Elder Xuan patted Bei Bei on the shoulder and said, "Bei Bei, you've been doing well lately. Remember, you're part of Shrek. Keep the bigger picture in mind — the future of Shrek needs you."
Bei Bei looked slightly puzzled but still smiled and said, "Elder Xuan, I won't let you down!"
"Heh, that's good."
Elder Xuan strolled off slowly.
Leaving Bei Bei standing there alone.
But once everyone else was gone, the gentle smile on Bei Bei's face vanished. His expression turned dark, and his fists clenched tightly.
"You really think I don't know what they're sending little brother Huo to do?"
"Put the big picture first? What about Tang Ya?!"
"Where's Shrek's fairness?!"
"Just because she's Yan Shaozhe's disciple, she gets a free pass?!"
"They'd better not let that woman hurt little brother Huo again. If she does — once I have the power — I won't forgive her!"
In the end, Bei Bei exhaled slowly, suppressing the negative emotions in his heart for now. Then, with a blank expression, he turned and left.
Today, Sea God's Island was still blessed with fair winds and clear skies.